Welfare Services

Part 1

Discuss how you implemented ethical decision-making skills in clinical situations. How did this situation turn out? What support from your agency did you receive?

The first step was identifying the ethical issue I faced in the clinical situation. It is best to determine if there is a moral issue before deciding on any situation. Based on the identified ethical issues, one can progress with decision-making ensuring they do not violate any ethical codes. The next step was identifying the individuals, groups, and organizations affected by the moral decision. Determining who is impacted by the ethical decision ensures the social worker understands how the decisions affect the individuals, groups, or organizations. The third step identified possible courses of action and potential benefits and risks. One should determine its impact on the client and whether it benefits or poses risks for each action taken. Before implementing their decision, the social worker should consider pertinent ethical theories, codes of ethics, and social work practice principles. They should consult with colleagues if they determine they cannot make a decision they deem ethical. The next step was making the decision and documenting how I arrived at a decision. Documenting allows one to consult their notes or share them with others when an issue arises later. Finally, monitoring and evaluating the decision to ensure there is a follow-up on the decision and establish there are no negative consequences.

The situation turned out okay. The ethical decision-making involved determining if I could use the information I had indirectly acquired regarding a client, and I had no evidence to support the report. The client was lying about their drug use, and I uncovered they were still using drugs from another social worker who shared the information, changing the clients name and details. However, some similarities made me suspect it was my client. Had I reported the client, their children would have been separated from their mother and the family broken up. The agency supported me by showing me the consequences of reporting the mothers drug use versus helping her quit. Letting the client know I was aware of her drug use made her change her behavior and mandating occasional drug tests proved effective.

Part 2

Reflecting on the competency-based assessment, describe what information would be included in the report as well as who would serve as supplemental sources of information.

When completing the competency-based assessment report, the practitioner should include information like the diagnosis made, the onset of the condition, the presenting symptoms/behaviors, and likely differential diagnosis (Gray & Zide, 2016). The diagnosis should be in line with the DSM-5 diagnosis for the particular symptoms and behavior presented by the client. Using the DSM-5 ensures there is credible evidence to support the diagnosis, and others can reference the manual to acquaint themselves with the diagnosis. Everyone reading the report must know the diagnosis made is based on the presenting symptoms. Since the client faces legal charges, the practitioner should demonstrate how the diagnosis can impair the client, making them do things they are unaware of or out of their control. The timeframe for the onset of the condition is vital in determining if it is an intellectual development disorder. According to Gray and Zide (2016) including the timeframe demonstrates when the disorder began, and the practitioner would indicate childhood-onset if it started before the client was ten years old or adolescent-onset if symptoms were seen after ten years of age.

The goal is to show when the symptoms were demonstrated and if they did during the developmental period. It is posited that intellectual developmental disorders occur during the development period. Therefore, including the onset period can assist in demonstrating if the clients development was impaired or not.

The symptoms or behaviors presented by the client are beneficial as they show how a person would behave when they have the disorder. In such a case, the behaviors could be used to show that the client acted or broke the law because of the disorder, and they were not aware they were doing something wrong. The diagnosis symptoms can be compared to those of the client, and a comparison is made to establish if they are similar. The report will have information on how the client or person suffering from the disorder would behave and treat others. The differential diagnosis will offer information on other disorders that could be confused with the one the client suffers from. The report presents the data to demonstrate how it cannot be the differential diagnosis because the client has one different symptom from what is indicated in the DSM-5 manual. It is vital that we do not confuse the diagnosis and including the differential diagnosis gives the reader information to support the initial diagnosis.

Supplemental sources of information would be parents, caregivers, teachers, police officers, and the client. We cannot rely on one source of information if we are to offer a comprehensive report on the assessment. Therefore, we need information from the parents to determine when they first started to note the negative behaviors in their child. Parents can offer information on the childs upbringing, and we can use that to determine if there was anything that might have impaired their mental development. If the client was in foster care, we need to get information from caregivers who handled the client during their formative years to uncover any vital information to determine or support our diagnosis. Teachers will offer information on the clients behavior in school and how they interact with other students. School information is vital as it gives an insight into the clients behavior at home and school, allowing us to determine when the disorder started. Police officers can provide information on the crime committed and the clients behavior when they committed the crime. Criminal information will assist in establishing if the behaviors are congruent with a person with an intellectual developmental disorder or not. The clients diagnosis could be correct, but the crime they committed might not be similar or related to their disorder. Therefore, we need to analyze this information when making the assessment report.

Part 3

Identify the most likely diagnosis for Mark and how you came to this conclusion. Identify what additional information you would need to support a specific diagnosis.

The most likely diagnosis for Mark is Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). ODD is characterized by persistent anger, temper tantrums, angry outbursts, and disregard...…be a multidisciplinary team working to support the family and abused child. The family needs support to understand how to handle the abused child and manage their emotions.

Provide for the well-being of children in our care is the second mission of Illinois DCFS, and this mission can be supported through speaking in one trauma-informed voice. The team needs to have a shared vision focused on the child to care for the childs well-being. Therefore, all services will be focused on the child and the trauma the child experienced. Each team member should build upon what the other team members are working on, and all individuals involved should use trauma-informed language when offering care to the child or interacting with the child. All family members must be trained in assessing, planning, and problem-solving with the traumatized child. The family will be involved in the treatment process, ensuring they can implement what they learn at home and support the child.

Provide appropriate, permanent families as quickly as possible for those children who cannot safely return home. For children who cannot be safely returned home, the team will identify an appropriate foster home suited to the childs needs. The foster parents should be part of the coordinated care team. Therefore, they should be trauma-trained and understand how to deal or interact with traumatized children. The caseworker will build a relationship with the foster parents as they wait for the childs adoption. After adoption, there should be follow-ups to ensure the child receives appropriate care and support to manage their trauma.

Support early intervention and child abuse prevention activities is the fourth mission of the Illinois DCFS. We can use teamwork/ coordinated care to prevent child abuse by educating parents and forming relationships with struggling parents. It is possible to identify at-risk children, and we can support the parents by taking them through training to inform them of the impact of abuse on their children. The caseworker can coordinate with law enforcement to receive information about parents who are at risk of abusing children. Also, there could be coordination to identify signs of abuse in children early and report the same to CPS. The goal is not to separate the child from the parents but to prevent abuse. Early intervention can assist a child not to develop mental health issues that can be harder to treat or manage if discovered later in life.

Work in partnership with communities to fulfill this mission. Teamwork focuses on partnerships with community members and other interested parties to ensure children in a given area are not abused or at risk of abuse. With a multidisciplinary care team, reports can be made when cases of suspected abuse are noted, and interventions initiated. Partnerships are formed where certain community members are trained to offer support to struggling parents. The community members will build relationships with the parents, and they can easily visit a family to provide services when caseworkers are overwhelmed. Community partnerships can offer ongoing support to the children and families, picking up from where the caseworker left off. The goal is to have a holistic care team that supports and intervenes when needed. Community partnerships can assist in identifying parents who…